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Watch this space for news from Accolade Publications, Inc., Microsoft Dynamics, and top ISVs and Partners!

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GPUG Summit 2012

As in past years, Accolade will be at this year's Dynamics Communities Summit Seattle. Will you?

Unlike Convergence, the Summit is geared towards the end user, promoted by the end user, and totally focused on the end user. Classes and sessions are based soley on feed back from the user, many of whom will be teaching these classes. Summit is a prime opportunity for you to learn more about your MS Dynamics product.

Accolade will have it's booth at the trade show once again showcasing our newest manuals, in addition to our entire library. We will keep you posted.

To find out more about Summit, visit their site. The event dates are October 17-19 and it will be held at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, Washington. We hope to see you there.

MS Dynamics NAV 5.0 Support Ending

Mainstream Support for Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 ends April 10, 2012 per the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy. Customers who are current on a service plan can continue to access the following benefits through CustomerSource:

Previously released Upgrades, Updates, Service Packs, Fixes and Regulatory/Tax Updates

Self-Help Support through Knowledge Base articles and online content

Unlimited Online Training

CustomerSource Community and Tools

For more information related to Microsoft Support Lifecycle policies and associated product dates for all Microsoft Products, see the Support Lifecycle page.

We recommend that you contact your Microsoft Dynamics Partner before installing service packs or hot fixes. It is important to verify that your environment is compatible with the service pack(s), hotfix(es), or download(s) being installed. A service pack, hotfix, or download may cause interoperability issues with customizations, and third-party products that work with your Microsoft Dynamics solution.

Educating Yourself -- Accolade Books

Education of your MS Dynamics GP users is an ever evolving issue. Software changes, new business needs arise, and, sometimes, employees change. While partners should be a key part of the education process, books from Accolade Publications, Inc. are designed to be significant training tools.

On our web site, we have over 24 titles available on MS Dynamics GP alone. We also have books on Creating Reports in SSRS and (soon) CRM. These books are not designed to replace your partner, who should intimately know and understand your site, but they are intended to supliment and expand the educational services your partner provides.

Take, for example, Sales Order Processing. The SOP module is a feature rich tool for taking and processing sales transactions. Covering all of it's features is a mamouth task. When you take a course on this module, the entire module will be presented properly. Remembering everything that was presented is your next problem.

The Accolade book on SOP covers the entire application, soup to nuts! Use our book to review and enhance your knowledge of the application. Remember to consult with your partner before adopting any new processes as their input is invaluable.

All of our books work like this. We have robust manuals on POP, SOP, Inventory, RM, and much more. We have short training manuals on the periodic and annual closing processes. We have manuals on supporting tools such as the Extender and the Builders, SSRS, and more.

Browse through our Library. Find a couple of books that will help your firm keep current with GP, and place an order today. Most Partners can obtain these books for you, you can order them at Amazon.com, or you can place an order directly on our web site. And, if you order directly from our web site this month, you can use coupon code JULY2011 to get a 15% discount off the list price!

Education! It is the least expensive way to improve your firm's operations.

Efficiency

As a consultant of 42 years, I have learned to see trends in the businesses I serve. One trend I see today is a strong move toward efficiency. Firms are spending money today not to hire new employees or invest in new equipment, but to make their operations more efficient. In manufacturing alone, I personally am actively installing more Finite Capacity Planning modules than I have in my entire career! And if you don't know what that package accomplishes, it optimizes production flows.

Why the move to optimization and efficiency? It is obvious. With such uncertainty in the economy, investments in efficiency pay dividends. They are never fired and they never effect the experience rates paid by the firm. Yet, once the investment is made, the optimization returns investments over and over again. It allows a firm to expand with lower investments, to contract without serious cost, and remain prepared to expand again.

Year End Close and Upgrade Time!

With the year coming to a close and Service Pack 1 for Version 2010 available, Partners have excellent consulting opportunities. Getting customers enthused about upgrading and ready to close their year are excellent topics for seminars. And Accolade has the materials you need to hold these events.

Accolade has over 20 titles specifically on MS Dynamics GP. Many of these are small seminar sized workbooks ready for presentation. Visit our site today, log on with your partner credentials, and check out our Partner Materials section for information on our seminar books and special pricing. Titles include:

Closing GP (Year End Processing)

Version 2010 Unleashed

Tips and Tricks I & II

Security

Power User

many more and more in the works!

Two of these books are especially useful this time of year. Closing GP walks end users through the once-per-year process of closing the system. You cannot possibly have a consultant at every one of your client's offices and those that really need your on-site help frequently will not pre-schedule you. Having a Year End Closing seminar educates users. Those that can do it themselves will now have the materials they need and those that need your help will realize it and schedule your time. One firm that uses our manuals promotes their seminars with the line "Come learn how to close the year, get the detailed instructions you need, and schedule a consultant to help."

Version 2010 Unleashed takes your clients through all of the new features of the current version of GP. An event where your team covers V2010's new features will get your clients excited about upgrading. Having a Customer Appreciation Lunch during the holiday season? Schedule a session on V2010 around this book. Provide copies to the attendees. Then see how many schedule their upgrades immediately.